Trudeau says CSIS info given to him about Chinese disinfo did not meet threshold of being suspicious enough to take action

'I asked to the extent they were certain that it happened and that China was indeed behind the mobilizing of the buses, and I also asked if CSIS had information,' said Trudeau.

  • By
  • April 10, 2024
  • News Analysis
Trudeau says CSIS info given to him about Chinese disinfo did not meet threshold of being suspicious enough to take action
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the Foreign Interference Commission on Wednesday that information presented to him regarding busloads of Chinese voters being mobilized to vote for Liberal MP Han Dong did not meet the threshold of being suspicious enough for him to take action.

Trudeau explained to lead commission council Shantona Chaudhury that intelligence is not always complete, and excused himself from not taking direct action on a clear case of Chinese interference in Canada’s democratic process.

Trudeau provided details of a conversation with PMO advisor Jeremy Broadhurst.

"[Broadhurst] shared with me that intelligence services had shared with him concerns that Chinese officials in Canada had been developing plans to possibly engage in interference in the nomination contest, specifically by mobilizing buses filled with... Buses filled with Chinese students, or speakers, or Chinese diaspora members... would have been mobilized to support Han Dong in that contest of a few weeks previous.

"I asked him more specifically... Do we know that they did? Did you hear from CSIS that this was actually done? They weren't entirely certain. There was reason to believe that, perhaps they had... there were buses of Chinese speakers at that nomination contest.

"There were concerns from CSIS that China might have been behind this, and that those students on the bus might have been motivated or mobilized to vote in that way, and there were concerns that CSIS had.

"I asked to the extent they were certain that it happened and that China was indeed behind the mobilizing of the buses, and I also asked if CSIS had information, if Han Dong knew about this.”

Trudeau said that the answers to that point were unclear. Notably, Trudeau asked if the contest was close, “if there was a sense that the actual result of the nomination could have been affected. That wasn't clear at all. CSIS didn't have any conclusions to share at that point.”

Trudeau went on to say that he asked if CSIS was making suggestions as to what action could be taken.

Incredibly, Trudeau says that the briefing was essentially just a heads-up and that it was “just about letting us know.”

The threshold for overturning a democratic event... must have a fairly high threshold for removal of that candidate. That was really sort of the binary choice we were placed within that situation. Acting would be removing Han Dong as our official candidate. The other choice would be not to remove that candidate. but even not having removed that candidate, it would be something that we would have to revisit certainly in the case of that candidate got elected, there would be questions we have to follow up on after the election to properly understand what happened, and what the issues and risks were in this situation, understanding that the decision to remove someone needed a high threshold.

Trudeau claims that he made the issue a top priority following the election when he went back to “primarily being the prime minister.”

Justin Trudeau Canada News Analysis Trudeau Must Resign Protect Our Democracy
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